GCU anti-student policies

GCU admin tarnishing institute's reputation by adopting 'anti-student policies'
Lahore, May 10: Despite having produced hundreds of thousands of well-educated students and
grooming some of the country's top minds, the GC University – or Government
College Lahore, as it is known to the many nostalgic Old Ravians across the
world – is on a downward spiral, both in terms of its repute as well as its
treatment of Ravians, who have the 'misfortune' of being currently enrolled at
the varsity.

Who could have guessed that the torchbearers of the
country's future – the students currently enrolled there – would be forced to
hold demonstrations and protests on the roads just to get their voices heard and
safeguard their right to appear for their exams.

Surely, it is incidents
such as these which tarnish not only the institution's repute, but also the
memory of all those who grown up under its shadow. Indeed, GCU is very proud of
its alumni. Men of great stature, from Allama Iqbal to Faiz Ahmed Faiz, from NM
Rashid to Patras Bukhari and, of course, Dr Abdus Salam, who are often touted as
'shining examples' of GCU's traditional commitment to excellence, would have no
doubt opposed the attitude being adopted by the current administration. Recent
protests by Ravians and their parents across the city have also taken their toll
on the entire education sector, and many students feel disheartened. They have
also called attention to what many are calling the varsity's 'anti-student'
policies. GCU has been serving the country and educating young minds since its
inception in 1876. However, most alumni are now openly criticising their alma
mater in the wake of the conflict between the GCU administration and its
students.

It is understood that the rules and regulations of any
institution are aimed at the welfare of its students, but these 'rules and
regulations' should not waste both the potential that the country's youth
possesses or the money that has been invested by the students' parents. The GCU
administration has stood its ground, saying that it was justified in its
decision regarding the 88 students who were declared ineligible to appear for
their exams because they did not have the required attendance. However, the
administration cannot be excused for failing to inform the students and their
parents of the criteria that had been set for considering one's eligibility. It
is not fair to inform students that they cannot sit in their exams a week before
the said exams are set to begin.

It should be noted that it is not the
first time we have seen protests against GCU's "unfair attitude". There have
been incidents in the past where the civil society and even lawyers have
protested against the varsity's policies. But instead of improving its policies,
the administration has turned a deaf ear to any and all criticism hurled its way
and has decided that it will not compromise on its stance. This stubbornness
inevitably led to the Lahore High Court suspending its order directed the Board
of Intermediate & Secondary Education (BISE) to issue the roll number slips
of the 88 students.

Siding with students: Several GCU teachers have said
they are in favour of providing relief to the students, as their futures were
too valuable to be toyed with in such a manner. They added that the
administration should have informed the students and their parents about the
policies on time and not on the eve of their exams, so that the students at
least had the option to send their admissions as private candidates. The
teachers said that merit, discipline and student-friendly policies had been the
foundations of the GCU, adding the administrations decision to deviate from
these beliefs was to blame for the protests being seen across the city. They
said it was true that GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Aftab Ahmad was struggling to
upgrade the statues of the GCU and that he had taken various steps in the past
for the institutions academic development, but the last three years has seen the
VC taking on one too many challenges, which was not helped by the fact that he
was being misguided by an "influential personality". They could only express
grief at seeing their beloved GCU, one of the best institutions in the country,
being highlighted in the news for all the wrong reasons, with the government
opting to stay silent on the matter.

The administration desperately
needs to stick to its old traditions since it is the only way it can restore
some of the prestige lost in this latest fiasco. Being Ravians themselves, Prime
Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and PML-N
chief Nawaz Sharif are in the best possible position to ensure that the future
of these students is not jeopardised by the policies of the institute.

Striking a blow for education
Lahore: The families of the Government College University (GCU) students who were not issued roll number slips for their
Intermediate examinations in accordance with the Lahore High Court (LHC)
decision, protested against the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education
(BISE). The decision of the BISE to grant only 37 out of the 88 students their
roll number slips is not only illogical but also an absurdly literalist
interpretation of the interim relief granted by the LHC. Clearly the court
provided this interim relief on the principle of balance of convenience pending
a final verdict, since otherwise the students would be permanently disadvantaged
by being excluded from the examinations. Since only 37 of the 88 students had
moved the court, the BISE in its wisdom has implemented the order by applying it
only to the 37 petitioners.

However, the real question remains: where
were the parents of these 88 students when they were not attending their
classes? It is convenient for the parents to argue that they were not informed
about the shortfall in attendance. Two points must be addressed here. First, the
GCU maintains that it informed these students and it is the students'
responsibility to inform their parents. Second, almost every educational
institution requires their students to attend 75 percent of their classes in
order to sit for any examinations. Thus while one can sympathise with the fate
of these 88 students, they should consider themselves lucky and be grateful to
the LHC for providing even the interim relief.

There is deterioration in
everything in Pakistan: values, principles and rules. This has also afflicted
our education system. Matters are worse with higher education, where the
syllabus is narrow, outdated and inefficacious. There is a lack of qualified
teachers, the Internet is used as a source of plagiarism, and students are
allowed to cheat the system. Protests such as the one mentioned above cannot be
condoned, for the simple reason that such acts encourage students to pressurise
institutions into concessions on rules that are abundantly clear. Where will it
end? And what will be the effect on the education system, which is already in
such a crisis? What sort of 'educated' product will emerge? We are already
plagued with illiteracy and the uneducated literates that litter our society. By
granting such concessions, we will only make matters worse.

While one
sympathises with the plight of the students, the GCU and the BISE should work
together to find a solution to ensure that the students' future is not
permanently threatened. However, it must be said that if we do not follow some
rules, our education system is doomed. Daily times

'Detention at UAF hostel': VC's team ' extracts desired statements'
Faisalabad: A committee constituted by the University of Agriculture
Faisalabad vice-chancellor to probe the issue of alleged detention of five girls
at the hostel superintendent room got the desired statements from the victims by
pressurising them, sources said on Saturday.

The sources said the
inquiry committee, comprising Dr Tanvir and Ms Bushra, summoned the victims and
grilled them one by one. The team had been pressing the girls for withdrawal of
the application they submitted reporting their detention, use of filthy language
and threats by the accused, they said.

According to the sources,
initially the students resisted the pressure and asked the team members why they
had been trying to save the skin of those who detained them for seven hours
without any justification.

Five girl boarders were allegedly detained at
the hostel on April 28 from 7pm to about 1am to probe into the issue of protest
rallies organised against the varsity administration's decision of expulsion of
more than one dozen ad hoc lecturers, allegedly to accommodate some blue-eyed
persons.

Reacting to the expulsions, students of different departments
had organised protest rallies on Apr 19 and Apr 28, demanding the restoration of
the expelled lecturers that affected their research work.

The sources
said the committee members had first dealt with the students strictly,
threatening them with expulsion from the university and other punishments.
However, seeing the girls were not budging on the issue, the team members tried
to convince them to change their stance, saying they wanted to save their
future, the sources added.

They said the committee members tore off the
written statement of the girls and asked them to rewrite the document describing
the detention incident as 'a little mistake' and that they had no intention to
proceed against anyone.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmed, a day after the
inquiry proceedings, visited the hostel and held talks with the boarders. The
victim girls categorically told the VC that the inquiry committee had
pressurised them to get the desired statements. The students told Dr Ahmed that
application submitted by them seeking action against the hostel incumbents was
based on facts. The girls said they were terrorised after they submitted the
application while no action was taken against the accused.

Dr Ahmed
assured the girls that they would not be called for any kind of inquiry onwards.

A senior faculty member, requesting anonymity, said the girls could not
get justice from the so-called inquiry committees as all the people at the helm
of the affairs were well aware of the questioning and detention of the girls at
hostel.

He suggested the chancellor should constitute an independent
committee to probe into quizzing of female students at night.

PU's LL.B suppl exam results
Lahore: The Punjab University on Saturday declared the results of LLB
Part-I and Part-II supplementary examinations for 2009.

In Part-I, as
many as 624 candidates appeared out of whom 449 were declared successful with a
pass percentage of 71.96.

In Part-II, as many as 619 candidates appeared
out of whom 453 were declared successful with a pass percentage of 73.18.

EXAMS: The PU has announced that the MEd (Mater of Education) visual
impairment second annual examination for 2008 (session 2007-08) and annual
examination for 2009 (session 2008-09) will begin on May 18. Dawn

PEF result
Lahore: The Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has
declared the result of Quality Assurance Test (QAT) held to select partner
schools in Lahore and Kasur for phase-6 of the Education Voucher Scheme (EVS).
According to a DGPR handout, detailed result has been placed on the PEF website
www.pef.edu.pk .

Upgrade of 74 schools in City lacks planning
Lahore: It IS generally observed that decisions taken in haste without
considering ground realities hamper the most important process of
implementation.

An example in this regard is the recent upgrade of 74
government schools of district Lahore which could not be done in true spirit
despite the passage of a month. The notification regarding upgrade of the 74
schools was issued by EDO (Education) Lahore Dr Muhammad Arshad on April 3, 2010
according to which 30 junior model schools and middle schools were upgraded to
high school level while 44 primary schools were upgraded to middle schools
across the provincial metropolis.

The stakeholders argue that if schools
upgrade was really needed and demand based, the arrangements, including required
infrastructure and teachers, should have been ensured in time. They are of the
view that the notification should have been issued much before the start of the
academic year which commences from April so that proper academic activities
could have started in the newly upgraded schools.

The recent move is
being criticised by teachers who believe a proper procedure was not followed
while the effort was made just to please the parliamentarians who had demanded
upgrade of schools in their constituencies.

A number of teachers,
seeking anonymity, said some upgraded schools were even lacking the required
infrastructure and the government was reluctant to start new sections there.
They said that usually creation of new posts along with the required budget was
sought from the finance department for an upgraded school so that teachers
already serving somewhere were not disturbed. They said the government had
launched enrolment drive, adding, however, that it lacked proper planning. "The
campaign is meant to attract more and more students," said a teacher, adding
"However, it is not being realised that more students would need more
teachers."

Elaborating his point of view, the teacher asked how the
government would manage the required strength of teachers at a particular school
attracting new enrolments when they were being transferred to newly upgraded
schools.

A schoolteacher, Jan-e-Alam Khan, who is also representing a
teachers" association said some schools were upgraded despite the fact that they
had no laboratories while required infrastructure was also missing. He said the
department high-ups were taking initiatives just to please the chief minister
who was known for his pro-education policies, while ignoring the ground
realities.

According to sources in the office of the EDO (Education),
ever since upgrade was notified, not a single new teacher could be posted until
recently as there was great resentment among them. It is learnt that after
notifying upgrade of schools, a massive exercise was launched to reshuffle the
teaching posts in various schools in order to adjust the required teaching
strength at newly upgraded schools. However, the practice proved a worst
nightmare for schoolteachers as they were being transferred against their will
to make the government move a success.

The education authorities,
justifying their move, blame the teachers for politicising the issue and
safeguarding their own interests. They believe that the teachers' primary duty
is to teach and they should not be reluctant to serve in schools where their
services are required.

A teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" seemed fit in this case.

He said the way the whole issue was handled had not only exposed the
lack of coordination but also "over-efficiency" of the high-ups who never
welcomed input of the stakeholders. The news